Lysine deficiency alters diet selection without depressing food intake in rats.
(1/9069)
Under states of protein deficiency, the dietary limiting amino acid, rather than protein content, can act as the dietary stimulus to control diet selection. If fact, threonine-deficient rats will alter their diet selection patterns solely on the basis of very small changes (0.009 g/100 g) in the dietary threonine concentration. In these studies, we assessed whether lysine-deficient rats will also alter their diet selection patterns on the basis of small changes in dietary Lys concentration. In all experiments, growing rats were adapted to diets in which the protein fraction (purified amino acids or wheat gluten) was limiting in Lys. They were then given a choice between the adaptation diet (AD) diet and a slightly more deficient diet. Rats that were adapted to a Lys-deficient diet (0.25 g Lys/100 g) selected their AD over diets containing as little as 0.01% less Lys (P < 0.01) within 5 d. To determine how deficient rats must be before they alter their selection patterns, rats were adapted to diets containing various levels of Lys, i.e., 2 levels below the requirement for growth and 2 levels above the requirement for growth, but below the requirement for maximal nitrogen retention. Only rats adapted to diets containing Lys below their requirement for growth selected their AD over a diet containing 0.05% less Lys (P < 0.005). Finally, to determine whether rats will alter their selection to whole protein-based diets, rats were adapted to 25% wheat gluten diets supplemented with 0.03-0.21% Lys. Rats selected the AD over a diet containing as little as 0.09% less supplemental Lys by d 4 of the trial (P < 0.05). We conclude that rats are sensitive to changes as small as 0.01% in dietary Lys concentration, but that sensitivity requires prior adaptation to Lys-deficient diets. (+info)
Expanded lysine acetylation specificity of Gcn5 in native complexes.
(2/9069)
The coactivator/adaptor protein Gcn5 is a conserved histone acetyltransferase, which functions as the catalytic subunit in multiple yeast transcriptional regulatory complexes. The ability of Gcn5 to acetylate nucleosomal histones is significantly reduced relative to its activity on free histones, where it predominantly modifies histone H3 at lysine 14. However, the association of Gcn5 in multisubunit complexes potentiates its nucleosomal histone acetyltransferase activity. Here, we show that the association of Gcn5 with other proteins in two native yeast complexes, Ada and SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase), directly confers upon Gcn5 the ability to acetylate an expanded set of lysines on H3. Furthermore Ada and SAGA have overlapping, yet distinct, patterns of acetylation, suggesting that the association of specific subunits determines site specificity. (+info)
Control of ketogenesis from amino acids. IV. Tissue specificity in oxidation of leucine, tyrosine, and lysine.
(3/9069)
In vitro and in vivo studies were made on the tissue specificity of oxidation of the ketogenic amino acids, leucine, tyrosine, and lysine. In in vitro studies the abilities of slices of various tissues of rats to form 14CO2 from 14C-amino acids were examined. With liver, but not kidney slices, addition of alpha-ketoglutarate was required for the maximum activities with these amino acids. Among the various tissues tested, kidney had the highest activity for lysine oxidation, followed by liver; other tissues showed very low activity. Kidney also had the highest activity for leucine oxidation, followed by diaphragm; liver and adipose tissue had lower activities. Liver had the highest activity for tyrosine oxidation, but kidney also showed considerable activity; other tissues had negligible activity. In in vivo studies the blood flow through the liver or kidney was stopped by ligation of the blood vessels. Then labeled amino acids were injected and recovery of radioactivity in respiratory 14CO2 was measured. In contrast to results with slices, no difference was found in the respiratory 14CO2 when the renal blood vessels were or were not ligated. On the contrary ligation of the hepatic vessels suppressed the oxidations of lysine and tyrosine completely and that of leucine partially. Thus in vivo, lysine and tyrosine seem to be metabolized mainly in the liver, whereas leucine is metabolized mostly in extrahepatic tissues and partly in liver. Use of tissue slices seems to be of only limited value in elucidating the metabolisms of these amino acids. (+info)
Actions of a pair of identified cerebral-buccal interneurons (CBI-8/9) in Aplysia that contain the peptide myomodulin.
(4/9069)
A combination of biocytin back-fills of the cerebral-buccal connectives and immunocytochemistry of the cerebral ganglion demonstrated that of the 13 bilateral pairs of cerebral-buccal interneurons in the cerebral ganglion, a subpopulation of 3 are immunopositive for the peptide myomodulin. The present paper describes the properties of two of these cells, which we have termed CBI-8 and CBI-9. CBI-8 and CBI-9 were found to be dye coupled and electrically coupled. The cells have virtually identical properties, and consequently we consider them to be "twin" pairs and refer to them as CBI-8/9. CBI-8/9 were identified by electrophysiological criteria and then labeled with dye. Labeled cells were found to be immunopositive for myomodulin, and, using high pressure liquid chromatography, the cells were shown to contain authentic myomodulin. CBI-8/9 were found to receive synaptic input after mechanical stimulation of the tentacles. They also received excitatory input from C-PR, a neuron involved in neck lengthening, and received a slow inhibitory input from CC5, a cell involved in neck shortening, suggesting that CBI-8/9 may be active during forward movements of the head or buccal mass. Firing of CBI-8 or CBI-9 resulted in the activation of a relatively small number of buccal neurons as evidenced by extracellular recordings from buccal nerves. Firing also produced local movements of the buccal mass, in particular a strong contraction of the I7 muscle, which mediates radula opening. CBI-8/9 were found to produce a slow depolarization and rhythmic activity of B48, the motor neuron for the I7 muscle. The data provide continuing evidence that the small population of cerebral buccal interneurons is composed of neurons that are highly diverse in their functional roles. CBI-8/9 may function as a type of premotor neuron, or perhaps as a peptidergic modulatory neuron, the functions of which are dependent on the coactivity of other neurons. (+info)
pKa calculations for class A beta-lactamases: influence of substrate binding.
(5/9069)
Beta-Lactamases are responsible for bacterial resistance to beta-lactams and are thus of major clinical importance. However, the identity of the general base involved in their mechanism of action is still unclear. Two candidate residues, Glu166 and Lys73, have been proposed to fulfill this role. Previous studies support the proposal that Glu166 acts during the deacylation, but there is no consensus on the possible role of this residue in the acylation step. Recent experimental data and theoretical considerations indicate that Lys73 is protonated in the free beta-lactamases, showing that this residue is unlikely to act as a proton abstractor. On the other hand, it has been proposed that the pKa of Lys73 would be dramatically reduced upon substrate binding and would thus be able to act as a base. To check this hypothesis, we performed continuum electrostatic calculations for five wild-type and three beta-lactamase mutants to estimate the pKa of Lys73 in the presence of substrates, both in the Henri-Michaelis complex and in the tetrahedral intermediate. In all cases, the pKa of Lys73 was computed to be above 10, showing that it is unlikely to act as a proton abstractor, even when a beta-lactam substrate is bound in the enzyme active site. The pKa of Lys234 is also raised in the tetrahedral intermediate, thus confirming a probable role of this residue in the stabilization of the tetrahedral intermediate. The influence of the beta-lactam carboxylate on the pKa values of the active-site lysines is also discussed. (+info)
Characterisation of the conformational and quaternary structure-dependent heparin-binding region of bovine seminal plasma protein PDC-109.
(6/9069)
PDC-109, the major heparin-binding protein of bull seminal plasma, binds to sperm choline lipids at ejaculation and modulates capacitation mediated by heparin. Affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose showed that polydisperse, but not monomeric, PDC-109 displayed heparin-binding capability. We sought to characterise the surface topology of the quaternary structure-dependent heparin-binding region of PDC-109 by comparing the arginine- and lysine-selective chemical modification patterns of the free and the heparin-bound protein. A combination of reversed-phase peptide mapping of endoproteinase Lys-C-digested PDC-109 derivatives and mass spectrometry was employed to identify modified and heparin-protected residues. PDC-109 contains two tandemly arranged fibronectin type II domains (a, Cys24-Cys61; b, Cys69-Cys109). The results show that six basic residues (Lys34, Arg57, Lys59, Arg64, Lys68, and Arg104) were shielded from reaction with acetic anhydride and 1,2-cyclohexanedione in heparin-bound PDC-109 oligomers. In the 1H-NMR solution structures of single fibronectin type II domains, residues topologically equivalent to PDC-109 Arg57 (Arg104) and Lys59 lay around beta-strand D on the same face of the domain. In full-length PDC-109, Arg64 and Lys68 are both located in the intervening polypeptide between domains a and b. Our data suggest possible quaternary structure arrangements of PDC-109 molecules to form a heparin-binding oligomer. (+info)
Role of a conserved lysine residue in the peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2): evidence for subtype specificity.
(7/9069)
The human cannabinoid receptors, central cannabinoid receptor (CB1) and peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2), share only 44% amino acid identity overall, yet most ligands do not discriminate between receptor subtypes. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed as a means of mapping the ligand recognition site for the human CB2 cannabinoid receptor. A lysine residue in the third transmembrane domain of the CB2 receptor (K109), which is conserved between the CB1 and CB2 receptors, was mutated to alanine or arginine to determine the role of this charged amino acid in receptor function. The analogous mutation in the CB1 receptor (K192A) was found to be crucial for recognition of several cannabinoid compounds excluding (R)-(+)-[2, 3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1, 4-benzoxazin-6-yl](1-naphthalenyl)methanone (WIN 55,212-2). In contrast, in human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells expressing the mutant or wild-type CB2 receptors, we found no significant differences in either the binding profile of several cannabinoid ligands nor in inhibition of cAMP accumulation. We identified a high-affinity site for (-)-3-[2-hydroxyl-4-(1, 1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl]-4-[3-hydroxyl propyl] cyclohexan-1-ol (CP-55,940) in the region of helices 3, 6, and 7, with S3.31(112), T3.35(116), and N7.49(295) in the K109A mutant using molecular modeling. The serine residue, unique to the CB2 receptor, was then mutated to glycine in the K109A mutant. This double mutant, K109AS112G, retains the ability to bind aminoalkylindoles but loses affinity for classical cannabinoids, as predicted by the molecular model. Distinct cellular localization of the mutant receptors observed with immunofluorescence also suggests differences in receptor function. In summary, we identified amino acid residues in the CB2 receptor that could lead to subtype specificity. (+info)
Passive electrotonic properties of rat hippocampal CA3 interneurones.
(8/9069)
1. The linear membrane responses of CA3 interneurones were determined with the use of whole-cell patch recording methods. The mean input resistance (RN) for all cells in this study was 526 +/- 16 MOmega and the slowest membrane time constant (tau0) was 73 +/- 3 ms. 2. The three-dimensional morphology of 63 biocytin-labelled neurones was used to construct compartmental models. Specific membrane resistivity (Rm) and specific membrane capacitance (Cm) were estimated by fitting the linear membrane response. Acceptable fits were obtained for 24 CA3 interneurones. The mean Rm was 61.9 +/- 34.2 Omega cm2 and the mean Cm was 0.9 +/- 0.3 microF cm-2. Intracellular resistance (Ri) could not be resolved in this study. 3. Examination of voltage attenuation revealed a significantly low synaptic efficiency from most dendritic synaptic input locations to the soma. 4. Simulations of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were analysed at both the site of synaptic input and at the soma. There was little variability in the depolarization at the soma from synaptic inputs placed at different locations along the dendritic tree. The EPSP amplitude at the site of synaptic input was progressively larger with distance from the soma, consistent with a progressive increase in input impedance. 5. The 'iso-efficiency' of spatially different synaptic inputs arose from two opposing factors: an increase in EPSP amplitude at the synapse with distance from the soma was opposed by a nearly equivalent increase in voltage attenuation. These simulations suggest that, in these particular neurones, the amplitude of EPSPs measured at the soma will not be significantly affected by the location of synaptic inputs. (+info)